Queering Spirituality: A Longitudinal Qualitative Exploration of Spiritual LGBTQ+ College Students' Ecological Systems

• In Event: Un/Structures of Resources and Support for Queer Youth

Abstract

The spiritual development of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) college students is often examined in terms of non/alignment with students’ faith. In this study, we explored the contextual influences on spiritual LGBTQ+ students. By using queer theory and an ecological framework to analyze qualitative data from a longitudinal study of LGBTQ+ collegians, we found LGBTQ+ students’ narratives of spiritual development were accounts of resistance to heteronormativity. We propose a queered ecological model to encourage additional explorations, explanations, or retellings of narratives as resistance to constrictive ecological influences. This perspective has potential for student affairs practitioners to better understand and support the development and agency of LGBTQ+ students, and for researchers to examine LGBTQ+ collegians’ complex ecological systems.

Authors

• Kari Weaver, The University of Iowa

• Jodi L Linley, University of Iowa

• Amanda Lyn Mollet, University of Iowa

• Joshua M. Holmes, University of Iowa

• Kristen A. Renn, Michigan State University